About 745.4 trillion VND (32 billion USD) was collected for the State budget in the first half of 2019, equivalent to 52.8 percent of the year’s target and up 13.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

 

At a meeting to review the six-month financial and budgetary work in Hanoi on July 12, the ministry reported that the collection for the central budget hit a five-year high when it reached 51.5 percent of this year’s plan.

 

Meanwhile, the local budget revenue reached 54.3 percent of the yearly target with 50 of the 63 provincial-level localities fulfilling over 50 percent of their plans.

 

The MoF has worked closely with the State Bank of Vietnam in governing the State budget, issuing Government bonds, and stepping up the cashless budget collection and spending, thereby helping to control inflation and ensure macro-economic stability, the ministry said.

 

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue pointed out that several difficulties that may hamper the State budget collection in the last half of this year have appeared.

 

He noted budget collection from State-owned enterprises, FDI businesses and private firms may decline compared to the last six months. The revenue in some big provinces and cities was low such as Ho Chi Minh City, which has fulfilled just over 48 percent of its budget collection target for this year.

 

Meanwhile, transfer pricing and untruthful tax declaration are still rampant. The disbursement of public investment capital, especially official development assistance (ODA) capital, remains sluggish as the six-month disbursed capital was equivalent to only 32.4 percent of the targeted figure, lower than that in the same period of 2018.

 

Hue blamed these problems partly on the Ministry of Planning and Investment, localities, as well as the MoF, asking them to accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital, particularly ODA capital, and promote the progress and quality of equitising and divesting State capital from State-owned enterprises.

 

The Deputy PM requested the MoF to enhance financial-budgetary discipline, address wastefulness in budget spending, and increase inspections and examinations.

 

The ministry and the General Department of Vietnam Customs need to augment efforts to fight the circumvention of trade remedies and origin frauds, he said, asking them to boost controlling the import of foreign products into Vietnam to fake origin to re-export them to other countries.

 

The MoF also needs to coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to select FDI projects that apply good technology and meet security-defence and environmental requirements, Deputy PM Hue added. -VNA